The key to growing your business is understanding the opportunities in your community (what is needed and what will be paid for) and the strengths you have. You will have identified these by undertaking the SWOT analysis covered in article 2.

Once you understand the opportunities for growth, it is important to prioritise and plan where to focus your resources – in other words, which activities will be more likely to be successful, sustainable and provide a return.

One way of doing this is to use an Ansoff Matrix (www.ansoffmatrix.com and below) to analyse the growth opportunities. The matrix allows you to understand where you can grow by examining your current and potential product or service offerings against your current customer base or new markets.

An Ansoff Matrix